A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Hiss!

That’s no way to drink Imperial Jelly Wine.

Lü Zhong had just realized what was happening, but it was too late to stop her. He could only watch as Shuini, drunk, collapsed onto him. Her consciousness seemed to have faded as she mumbled:

”Good, good disciple... help your master rest.”

”Uh, alright.” Seeing Shuini in such a state, Lü Zhong felt it wouldn’t be right to ask Yu Feng’Er to take over. He had no choice but to take on the task himself, helping her toward a guest room he had prepared specifically for such situations.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he could have sworn Shuini’s body was trembling slightly.

But when he focused his senses, everything seemed normal.

’Strange, it’s not like I drank that much...’

Unable to figure it out, he decided not to overthink it and focused on supporting Shuini, lest she accidentally bump into something. If that happened, he’d be in for it when she sobered up.

The Waterside Pavilion wasn’t far from the guest rooms. Lü Zhong had prepared nine of them, precisely for situations like this.

After helping Shuini onto the bed, he flipped his hand and retrieved a White Jade Pill.

It was an Awakening Soul Pill.

For a cultivator in a Drunken Spirit state, it was the best antidote.

Just as Lü Zhong was wondering how to get Shuini to take it, he suddenly felt a puff of hot air on his cheek. He turned his head to see that Shuini had woken up at some point, with not a trace of drunkenness on her face.

They were so close their hair brushed against each other.

Before he could react, she leaned in.

...

The room was filled with the lingering scent of their recent passion.

Gazing at her own radiant reflection in the Water Mirror, Shuini’s face, still flushed, bloomed with a deeper crimson, but she quickly suppressed it.

”Hmph, finally got you!” Shuini hummed to herself.

But a moment later, a new headache set in.

’The chances are slim, but if I’ve hit the jackpot, I might as well go learn Earth Escape. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to show my face in public again.’

Soon, a plan formed in her mind.

She straightened her appearance and clothes, returning to her usual self.

Pushing the door open, she emerged just in time for dinner.

Compared to lunch, dinner was clearly much lighter. It consisted mostly of simple, flavorful dishes, all cooked with Spirit Medicines. Though their restorative effects couldn’t match Flood Dragon Meat, the taste was by no means inferior.

Shuini sat down at her seat with a composed air, but she didn’t dare to meet Lü Zhong’s eyes.

”Sorry to keep you waiting!”

Lü Zhong’s mood throughout the meal was exceptionally complicated, the earlier scene replaying in his mind. Beside him, Yu Feng’Er was completely oblivious. She was just secretly relieved that Shuini was focused on eating instead of making small talk.

After dinner, the three of them admired the moon together.

Inevitably, another conversation ensued.

...

The summer blazed like fire. After the Lantern Festival, Shuini set off on her journey home.

After seeing Shuini off, Yu Feng’Er noticed that her husband’s expression was a little strange. ”Husband, are you not feeling well? Or are you just sad to see Master leave...” she asked.

”Of course not,” Lü Zhong said with a dry laugh.

He thought back to what had happened between him and Shuini. It was true that Shuini had initiated it, but later on, he had been the more active one.

In this world, having three wives and four concubines—or three husbands and four lovers—was a common affair for cultivators. As long as one had the ability, there was no issue with marrying more partners. But this kind of affair, especially between a master and disciple... it wasn’t something everyone would accept.

’Sigh, how am I going to explain this!’

As he was lost in thought, he saw Yu Feng’Er watching him with a wide smile.

His heart skipped a beat.

’Oh no, this woman is sharp as a tack!’

...

After being thoroughly ”squeezed,” it was a new year by the time he left his room again.

In the Waterside Pavilion, Lü Zhong lay listlessly, needing a maid to even help him drink his tea.

Although his Primordial Qi had been greatly depleted, he had at least managed to put that matter behind him.

After resting for several more months to recover, Lü Zhong finally resumed refining his Magical Treasure.

With such a long delay, it was inevitable that the Magical Treasure’s power would be compromised. Seeing this, he gritted his teeth and refined the Azure Beast True Bone he had been saving into it.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

When the final product emerged, it had become a Five-layered Restriction Magical Treasure.

Due to material limitations, the finished Dharma Robe wasn’t black but a dark, inky blue. The surface pattern was no longer of stars but had been replaced with a more fitting Water Flood Dragon Pattern.

Thus, the treasure was named the ”Flood Dragon Patterned Robe.”

Perhaps because he had added too many Water Flood Dragon materials, the Flood Dragon Patterned Robe inherited some of the Water Flood Dragon’s Divine Techniques. In addition to the expected ”Rising Star Seal,” it gained a ”Water Control Divine Technique.”

The Water Control Divine Technique was a lesser version of the Water Manipulation Divine Technique.

It was impossible to move mountains and part seas with Divine Power like the original Water Flood Dragon. At most, it could simply control some water currents, roughly simulating the effects of a Tier One or Tier Two Water Element Magic Skill.

In addition, it granted a certain degree of underwater mobility.

”Used flexibly, it’s quite a useful skill.” After a period of refinement, Lü Zhong put on the Flood Dragon Patterned Robe in front of a Water Mirror, resuming his usual dignified and righteous appearance.

He pushed the door open and saw that Yu Feng’Er wasn’t outside.

He inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

He shot up into the sky.

’Since this concerns the Outer Body Incarnation Divine Techniques, I need to finish learning the Golden Seal Script as soon as possible...’ Lü Zhong decided to stay in Changchun Immortal City for a while and return only after he had mastered it.

With a sudden burst of speed, he turned into a streak of rainbow light and vanished into the distance.

...

In the days that followed, Lü Zhong immersed himself in studying the Golden Seal Script.

Completely different from the Silver Tadpole Script, the Golden Seal Script was a type of pictographic writing. It was essentially in the same category as Runes, both being simplified representations of the True Form of the Great Dao. The characters themselves possessed inherent power.

The Three Thousand True Texts each held ten thousand variations.

According to Kuang Youwen, this was already the result of extreme simplification. After modifications by ancient sages, only one ten-thousandth of the Golden Seal Script’s original power remained, drastically reducing the difficulty of learning it.

Even so, Lü Zhong still found it incredibly difficult to learn.

Fortunately, he was already a Core Formation Cultivator, and his Divine Soul was stronger than others at his level. So, while it was a struggle, his progress wasn’t slow when he focused all his efforts.

Finally, he deciphered the title on the booklet’s cover.

It was, without a doubt, Outer Body Incarnation.

Upon confirming this, Lü Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

While he was engrossed in his studies, major events were constantly unfolding in the Southern Barbarian lands. First, the Lingyue Sect, which had been in turmoil, saw its first Core Formation Elder fall after a long period of attrition.

This was definitely a landmark event!

In the eyes of many, it symbolized the beginning of the Lingyue Sect’s collapse.

Sure enough, half a month after this incident, Shuini sent a secret letter. She requested that Lü Zhong begin mobilizing the forces of the Bihai Sect and the Chengde Commerce Association and gather sufficient war supplies for the upcoming ”Battle of the United Sects.”

The winds howled, heralding the coming storm.

During this period, many factions also began to make their own moves.

The formation of the Seven Southern Barbarian Sects was no accident.

In fact, it was the result of a long-term power struggle within this part of the Cultivation Realm, which had finally led to a relatively stable arrangement. Any attempt to break this balance was bound to be met with the full force of opposing powers.

According to the news Lü Zhong had received, the Daoist Sects—namely Huayi Temple and the Yan Zhen Sect—had already begun cultivating their own forces in the Lingyue Domain, intending to establish a new Nascent Soul Sect.

Perhaps because of this, friction had recently started to occur frequently between Changchun Valley and the Daoist Sects.

At any other time, Changchun Valley, which had long boasted two Nascent Soul cultivators in one sect, would have been more than capable of single-handedly keeping the Daoist Sects in check, preventing their cultivated forces from rising in the Lingyue Domain.

But now, the situation was vastly different.

Changchun Valley was currently in a period of weakness.

Rumors were already circulating that they had been in contact with the Xuanyang Sect. It seemed the two had reached a preliminary agreement to form an Alliance to resist the expansion of the Daoist Sects.

Meanwhile, the Daoist Sects began frequently dispatching envoys to the Celestial Blade Domain.

Their purpose was blatantly obvious.

...

For the past few months, Lü Zhong, who had been studying the Golden Seal Script for two years, had gained a sufficient understanding of the Three Thousand True Texts. Feeling he had learned enough, he had begun attempting to decipher the text, and today, he finally had a breakthrough.

He stared at the manuscript on his desk.

Lü Zhong’s heart couldn’t help but race. He took a deep breath and read it, word by word, line by line.

Unlike an ordinary Clone Secret Technique, Outer Body Incarnation was truly a Heaven-Defying Divine Technique.

Outer Body Incarnation, a Divine Power Skill.

Use a Secret Technique for Soul Splitting, then construct the Incarnation.